“One Broccoli Latte to go, please.”

Move aside turmeric, matcha and beetroot — the next controversial coffee trend to look out for involves an unassuming little veggie called broccoli, with one Melbourne cafe the first to experiment brewing a broccoli latte recently, albeit to mixed reviews.

Bunches of the vegetable deemed too imperfect looking to be stocked on shop shelves have been ground up and turned into a powder by science agency CSIRO and agriculture group Hort Innovation.

The broccoli powder, and associated extruded snacks, are being developed as part of a larger research and development project which aims to reduce vegetable waste by creating healthy food products from ‘ugly’ produce.

While broccoli lattes might not suit everyone, Hort Innovation chief executive John Lloyd said the powder could be used for smoothies, soups, baking and as a way of hiding broccoli from fussy kids in meals.

“With a rising trend in healthy eating across the board, Australian growers are always looking at ways to diversify their products and cut waste while meeting consumer demand,” Mr Lloyd said.

He also said despite the increasing popularity of ‘superfoods’ and health and wellness, Australian diets are still poor.

“Research shows the average Australian is still not eating the recommended daily intake of vegetables a day, and options such as broccoli powder will help address this,” he said.